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Sources Say Google is Worried Over Samsung’s Android Dominance

This is a topic we have discussed a few times, mainly when we are speedily going back and forth on the Droid Life Show, speculating whether or not Google cares that Samsung’s success could spell trouble for them down the road. Apparently, WSJ has had a chat with some folks close to the matter, and Google is legitimately concerned over Samsung’s pure Android device marketshare domination.

Over the last year, Samsung has basically put on a clinic with how to make a smartphone go viral. In numerical speak, Samsung shipped almost 200 million more Android devices than the next leading Android OEM. Thanks to massive marketing campaigns throughout TV, print, and other forms of advertisements, the Galaxy brand is now a household name. So, what makes this a bad thing for Google? Why would Google be worried that one OEM is making them a ton of ad revenue more so than any other?

According to sources inside Google, the search giant is worried that if it allows Samsung to grow too big, the Korean manufacturer will be able to demand more online advertising revenue that they are making for Google. As of now, that number sits around 10%, but if Samsung continues to grow that number could rise. Worst case scenario and Google can’t give them a reasonable offer, Samsung could easily pack up shop and start working on their own version of Android, much like what Amazon has with the Kindle tablets. Android makes Google money by using their services (YouTube, Google search, Google Play, etc.) and if Samsung took the Amazon route, Google would be losing a ton of revenue if they halted using those specific applications on their devices.

This is where the purchase of Motorola comes in. Google, according to the same sources, will work extremely close with Motorola to keep Samsung from getting out of hand. By creating a device, in reference to the upcoming X Phone, Google will look to steal a bit of Samsung’s thunder to make the Android OEM field a bit more fair and level for all players.

If Moto and Google can seriously deliver a home run with the new device, that would certainly be a fresh air for the eco-system.

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Google has right to be worried about Samsung’s Android domination; but not because of Samsung. The only reasonable motive they have to be worried is … BECAUSE THEY (GOOGLE) SUCKS.

Google sucks very, very hard at selling their products, and it’s nowhere Samsungs fault.
Neither is LG responsible. LG just built just as much devices google ordered (70,000 units for the worldwide launch, you speak of a joke).

Note you can only get their devices via the Play Store, which is only available in three, or four countries.

Seven months after the official launch the nexsucks devices, none of them are officially available in countries like Germany or Switzerland. Or you get them, overpriced, at the black market.
In France, which is ”lucky” enough to host a play store, you just can get only one out of three devices, and only the low storage, 8GB model.

Every time google launched a device, they created fake sold outs just by ordering too few units. This, just to create press buzzes; the famous ”look at how our devices sells so good”

Now they pay for their ”attention whore” attitude, and they deserve it.

Austin Warren

I question all of you to why are you here if you’re going to bash one of the only companies to create good phones? LG socks, Motorola is laggy, HTC just blows. Put a custom rom on it if you don’t like touchwiz. Put pie on there if you don’t like the home button. Just stop your bittching and complaining.

renGek

innovation comes from a lot of places and/or inspired by things others do. The more parties you have involved the greater the chance of someone coming up with something new and different. You leave it to one hive cluster (*looks towards cupertino*) you end up with a narrowed view of how one party thinks things should be. As great as samsung has been for android there is always the likelihood that they will dominate too much and force a certain style onto the android platform. They could do that if in the extreme case LG, HTC and Motorola are gone then you have no choice but to buy samsung or some far distant 2nd place brand. So I think its good for google to have nexus relationships with other vendors besides samsung.

Tech Pro

Samsung deserves to be successful. Just watch ESPN or any TV program, “The Next Big Thing” Ad runs every 10 minutes. Samsung’s Ad showing frequency is at least 10 times more than Google and Apple combined on ESPN. Heavy marketing dollar makes Samsung a recognizable brand name. People without technical background only know 2 cell phone company, Samsung and Apple. Samsung deserves to get more money from Google, otherwise who will pay all those Ad. Google can either pay up or run their own Ad.

Mark Mann

i’ve seen precisely 1 gs3 in the wild, and have seen one note II in the wild…3 gs2s in the wild…the vast majority around here are moto, htc, or iphones

William_Morris

Does anyone else consider the fact that there’s uniformity in Samsung’s line?

I mean if you really break it down, they have only 2 current phones out on virtually every carrier, including the big 4 here in the states.

Moto is only on 3 of the 4 carriers and has a different phone for each carrier (Razr HD, Razr M, Razr HD MAXX for VZW, Photon for Sprint, Atrix for ATT).

HTC has the same situation. (One series for Tmo and ATT, Evo for Sprint, whatever flavor of the day for VZW.)

Samsung has taken a particularly successful note (ha! pun) from Apple’s marketing strategy. Their major difference is introducing 2 phones instead of one and making the only difference the antennas and some color schemes. This is why they have success. You don’t have to jump a carrier to get the latest and greatest from Samsung. You can get it from your carrier. VZW customers are stuck with the Droid brand, they can’t get the One but they can get a Note 2 or an SIII.

Google/Moto may be coming up with a similar idea in the X-Phone. (I will have to believe it when I see it.)

Devi8

apparently Samsung is already back another linux distro for phones called Tizen, they built the reference unit the OS is running

A lot of good points here. But there is a further explanation for Samsung’s dominance of the Android market share, and that has to do with their hardware deployment. As a whole, we like consistency in our lives, that is why a Big Mac is the same the most of the world over. And that is what Samsung has brought to the Android market.

Samsung makes one phone for all carriers, and the only thing that changes is the bloatware added by said carriers. What this means for us consumers is that AT&T subscribers, Verizon subscribers, Rogers subscribers, Orange subscribers all get the same phone and the same experience. If your friend has a GSIII on Sprint, and you are on T-Mobile and want the same phone, you can have it.

This is where manufacturers like Motorola, LG, Sony, Kyocera, Sanyo, et cetera, who make different handsets for different carriers cannot gain any major foothold. Because your buddy may have the new Droid RAZR Maxx HD, but since you are on T-Mobile you cannot get it, and you are not going to change carriers. HTC has started to embrace this philosophy with the new HTC One phone they just unveiled, despite Verizon passing on the device, anyone in the world can have that phone on any carrier.

If Google is truly concerned about Samsung dominance, then the new Motorola X Phone should be the beginning of this same ‘one handset for every carrier’ model. If they can bring their new flagship phone to market, offer it for every carrier, and offer that ‘Nexus’ style software experience, they may be able to reclaim a large portion of that market share.

justbefair

Let say mr tim o tato get paid to write for droid life. His articles beome very popular with readers and people read droid life because of him. Should mr o tato ask for a better compensation from droid life? Or should droid life try to promote other writers so they don’t have to worry about mr o tato asking for a raise? How’s that apply to anyone’s work situation? One can’t ask for more for doing a much better job than anyone else? Why shouldn’t samsung ask for 15% from google when most of its mobile revenue come from galaxy devices. We thank our company for our job but that doesn’t mean we are not going to ask for better compensation.

cphilano

Look no further than the last year when Android users were frustrated over seeing commercials about iPhone features which were already apart of Android. Android users knew it, but the rest of the world didn’t. How about Samsung marketing S Beam and a bigger screen as advantages over the iPhone? Every top tier Android phone released with Jelly Bean had the Beam feature stock and bigger screens. It’s ridiculous that other manufacturers besides Apple (Samsung woke up and saw the marketing giant through its envy of Apple) hadn’t realized that carriers weren’t selling their products well. Great marketing and advertising actually works especially if you have a good product! Who knew?

MikeKorby

if we are talking about ridiculous moves by Samsung growing upset with Google, there is always a chance that they could jump ship from the Android Aircraft carrier and hop onto the Windows Phone dinghy..
They already have existing experience with WinMo, and it would not be overly difficult for them to change operating systems, seeing as there is similar hardware for both of their derivatives..

Well maybe more OEMs need to learn how to market, Samsung does that pretty well, so maybe OEMS need to follow that model as its working quite well for Samsung, also making simple but nice looking devices helps as well, beats audio didn’t take off its HTC’s fault for attempting to make that the central selling pointand then not having decent advertising, Sammy does it better so google better learn from both of them in order to make good on this.

Android_Forever

Dear [company name], WOW (software+hardware+design) products is the best SOLUTION for all kinds of dominance.

Hi-end Motorola Xphone made in USA is going to be one of them.

Motorola vs SAMSUNG 2013.

C-Law

I hated the droid eris, loved the og droid, loved the gnex, and love my s3. So I’m ok with moto and Samsung being on top. I don’t think Google needs to worry now that they own moto, just get the x phone right!

PhillipCun

I think many are missing the point here. Samsung’s dominance means much more than just market share and profit. The brand recognition of the Galaxy brand is now eclipsing the Android name. People are not asking if you have an Android. They are asking if you have a Galaxy phone. Most people do not recognize that the Samsung Galaxy brand is just a brand and Android is an operating system and that is a huge threat to Google. Google damn sure should be worried.

With Samsung supporting Bada and using Bada in their entry level phones, they are testing the waters to leave Android completely. What that means is no more Google Apps on Samsung. That’s something I wouldn’t want to leave. The point of having an Android is connecting to all of Google’s products. That’s what makes the Android experience so seamless. Samsung’s market share and advertising power can easily sway people to believing it will be the same experience.

And the best part about this? Google-Motorola is producing the X-Phone which is supposed to help put Samsung in its place. Will it succeed? Who knows. Why should we all get excited? Competition within Android. This is helping to fuel innovation and the consumers, us, will reap the benefits. Bring it on Motorola. Bring it on Samsung. It’s going to be an epic fight. *popcorn*

Google does ENORMOUS amount of work on the software innovations side.
SAMSUNG should focus on design and hardware + differentiation.

Yes, Google wants their own super-experience.
Google’s X-perience.
Hi-end.
Designed, engineered and assembled in the USA.

cphilano

I don’t think Google ever wanted the brand of Android to be bigger than the manufacturers or Google itself, so Galaxy brand eclipsing the Android name wouldn’t be an issue. Samsung’s brand is eclipsing other manufacturers by and large, and that’s what is cause for worry. They aren’t succeeding with Android so why stay with it as their OS of choice? The biggest problem for the other manufacturers seems to be that they rely too heavily on the carriers advertising their phones and the phones features.

If Google and Motorola handle the marketing for the anticipated X-Phone the way they have handled marketing for the Nexus devices, barely anyone will know that the phone even exists or how it is different or better than the next new smart phone.

The HTC One X was probably the best phone out there at one time, but who really knew about the phone in the general public? These companies need to invest some money in advertising.

nightscout13

Then release some descent phones Motorola! If you’re worried about Sammy

Jones

This is off topic but I wanted some advice from people who actually know what they are talking about.
Talking about you guys in the comment section specifically.

I have an LG Optimus G and it is fantastic in everyday except one.
Some native LG tweaks are nice ( I like their lock screen and qslide).
It’s just a beauty of a phone but I worry about support.

I’m not a fan of Sammy so I really don’t want the S3 or note2.
I’m on Sprint and I want to go to a Galaxy Nexus.

Would that be too regressive and would I feel a noticeable difference?
I really want to have the latest or something like it.
LG aat the moment doesn’t have the best support.
I would get the Nexus 4 if it was available.

Personally, I wouldn’t. It’s pure Android and was great for its day, but the hardware is aging fast — you’d notice the performance difference. If I were in your boat, I’d stay with the Optimus G until the new Nexus device; then you can either get that (if it’s on Sprint) or get something that’s current at the time you’re buying.

Jones

Thanks a lot.
I’d rather ask you guys than a BB Mobile rep who barely knows anything .

As long as they have those physical buttons, count my Gnex the LAST Samsung android I’ll buy!

Franc012

Without the standard Google apps, there would be no point in me buying another Samsung phone. Unless Samsung could write software that could compete with Google, I don’t see them leaving anytime soon. Compare S-Voice with Google Search. There is no comparison; S-Voice is a joke. Even Swype isn’t at the same level as the Jellybean 4.2 keyboard. In my experience, Jellybean 4.2 keyboard is just better at predicting the word I intend to type. How would Samsung replace Google Maps, Navigator, Google Music, YouTube, or GMail? It couldn’t, and without official Google support, the end-user would have to side-load apk’s in order to get Google apps on their phones. At this point, Samsung needs Google, because nobody is about to buy a phone with S-Maps, S-Navigate, S-Music, S-Tube, or S-Mail. I suspect that Samsung doesn’t really want to fund so many projects anyway.

bananatroll

exactly. And the real question is this:

Why does Scamsung think they need all these Google replacement apps?

Lol do they think they could possibly create their own Samsung ecosystem?

I would love to see them try – it would make room for other OEM’s who actually make a dependable and reliable well-built product.

DanWazz

The X phone better have some awesome commercials.

bananatroll

just imagine a motorola product without the DROID brand/moniker. Its gonna take some getting used to.

nobody72

For myself; the xphone will be a failure because it will lack sd slot. Google might be concern about samsung; but just maybe samsung is offering folks what they want and not what ‘google’ wants.

So, if Samsung is the savior of the consumer’s wants, why do iPhones sell so well without an SD card?
One feature being there or missing will not greatly affect sales. The simple fact is that they put the most money into their advertising, so they had the highest sales. Should HTC, Motorola and LG focus on making a halo device and advertising the heck out of it, Samsung will lose ground. Such is the fickle mind of the world consumer.

nobody72

The iphone is not a fair comparison after all I don’t think many of who are interested in android phones are buying an iphone 🙂
–
If you want an xphone (or nexus tablet) without an sd slot feel free to buy one. I like my sd slot so until google starts adding them to their devices I will look elsewhere.

sporttster

Google really needs to knock it out of the park with the X phone from Moto. It needs to be unlocked, with a killer camera, at least quad core, 2gb ram or better, SD card, preferably with HDMI out support, a removeable battery would be very nice or a batt that is insanely powerful and lasts a day or better, a top notch processor, and a 5″ HD screen and great sound. I mean they need to kill it on darned near every front. Make it happen, Google!

bananatroll

an intel atom series 2 would be faster than a quad. 22nm vs 38nm.. Yeah I’ll take the faster, newer, chip, which is fully optimized to fun two cores in a architecture that is over 50% more efficient than the snapdragons.

While the SoC may be more efficient, Intel does not integrate the LTE radio module, which will pretty much off-set the gains. Also, the newest Snapdragon SoC’s are based on a 28 nm process, not 38 nm.
Also, Android as a whole is much greater optimized for running on the ARM architecture than it is for the x86 architecture used by the Atom chips, so some apps will not be compatible, stable, or run as well.

bananatroll

i wasn’t aware of this. Rumor is the atom will be the shining star of the x phone. I’ve read that KLP on the x phone will be designed natively with the atom processor from day one, thusly making it the “reference” processor for others to follow. Not 100% sure if that’s just rumor though.

MrCrusha

If Googlerola can figure out the camera issues that Motorola phones have I would go back to it. The hardware other than that felt nice in the hand. They also need to stay away from screens like the Bionic had. Listen to the customers and do what is right. Part of the reason why Samsung is doing so well. They listened to what people wanted and delivered. Can’t believe that when they quality tested a Moto phone and said …”Oh yeah… the camera is good!”

yummy

I really hated leaving motos
radios and tanklike builds. But now
I love my plasticy piece of garbage
that I have to stick batteries in like
a horsy ride outside of walmart.
Go plastic!

For me it’s really gonna come down to the S4 vs. X Phone. That and if I have money, but my Galaxy Nexus is really getting old.

Realist

can some one tell me whats makes android/google phones so much better over iOS??? a jailbroken iphone is the best phone in the world. How great is it REALLY to be going from rom to rom? If it REALLY was that great you wouldn’t be switching all the time right? Can a rooted device download videos/music from YouTube? Could a rooted device download songs from pandora and give you unlimited skips? the ONLY thing they have an advantage on is screen size. im not gonna lie and say i dont wish the iphones screen was bigger but thats it. i had the Galaxy Nexus on verizon for over a year and i liked it(i have unlimited data and love it with free tethering). i rooted it and customized it up the wazzu and whatnot but i was never satisfied with it. it couldnt give me the options a jailbroken iphone gives me. I’m not an apple fanboy either. im just a realist.

IF someone can give me any reasons why they think a google/android device is better then a jailbroken iphone id like to hear them? customizing isnt all that great. live wallpapers arent really that great cause they drain battery…l.e.d. customization was fun for a while but then i didn’t really care for it?

“IF someone can give me any reasons why they think a google/android device is better then a jailbroken iphone id like to hear them?”

My main reason for preferring Android over iOS is the outlook of the company overall. Apple exercises extreme control over not only their devices but their ecosystem. While JailBreaking your iDevice allows you to get around their app restrictions and allows some minor UI changes, you are still limited by the underlying OS’s restrictions regarding how apps run and share information, which will ultimately keep apps from efficiently working together to provide a cohesive user experience. The best example I have is DashClock for Android 4.2. While it only works for the latest version of Android, it shows what true app communication can do for your user experience.

Google realized early on that not everyone wants the same thing, so they let device manufacturers go their own way, which created a long list of features and a vast ecosystem in a relatively short period of time. While that approach has its own issues, it still allows me to choose the device that hits the most high points for me. If you don’t want to use widgets, or a custom ROM, or a new launcher, you don’t have to. You can add a grid of icons to your home screens, and that will be that. In fact, the Play store will even auto-add them if you check that under the options.

TL;DR: Even a Jailbroken iDevice does not give you as much choice as a basic Android device in how you set it up and use it. You can make any Android device run like an iDevice, but you cannot make an iDevice run like any Android device.

Joshua Trujillo

“In numerical speak, Samsung shipped almost 200 million more Android devices than the next leading Android OEM.”

-This makes them sound like the apple of android, using marketing to make galaxy a household brand as you mentioned. However, they’re still competing against several android manufacturers which should keep them on their toes.

I broke my Moto RAZR MAXX (not HD) which I loved except for a few design flaws: speaker, headphone jack, and vibration motor ALL died at once with normal use. Which would have been covered by warranty, if I didn’t shatter the screen dropping it in my haste to the hospital :/

Shopping for a replacement I said go big or go home and debated the HTC DNA or the Galaxy Note 2. I was tempted by the S3 and similarly the Note 2 but when it came down to it I didn’t like Samsung’s UI or a phablet, so I went HTC. Being so used to Moto’s skin which was near stock and in my opinion in some ways better, I’m iffy about HTC Sense as well, but I like it more than Samsung.

I hope the HTC One helps put HTC back on the map, they’re far overlooked these days. Would be nice to them steal some of Sammy’s spotlight too. Competition driving innovation is what made Android great and I hope the market gets shaken up again. With Blackberry trying to get on the ball again, Nokia and HTC making some nice Windows phones, the iPhone staying competitive, I think a stagnant Samsung-dominant Android needs a facelift.

The Galaxy S3 is one of the best phones ever made and Samsung deserves credit for that, my S3 is my 5th android phone, and is head over heals better than any of the others. Very good battery life, removable battery (although for the first time i have never purchased a second – not needed), and microSD slot. What more can you ask for.

NexusMan

I think this whole idea of Samsung potentially dumping Android is really stupid (but that doesn’t mean Samsung wouldn’t be dumb enough to do it). Samsung drops Google and forks Android like Amazon or develops their own os and guess what, then Google will block the Play Store and the entire suite of Google apps that only come when you are an official Android partner…then the Galaxy S Whatever looks a whole lot less attractive to consumers. “Where’d my Gmail icon go????” “Where’s Google Now?” “These new maps are worse than Apple’s!!!”

cphilano

Yup, I’d have to say that Google is more worried that Samsung would pack up shop leaving Google with less revenue and partnered up with manufacturers that aren’t willing to put the money behind advertising the way Samsung has.

Samsung could pack up shop, but so far it still hasn’t shown the capacity to be good on the software side of things. That move ultimately hurts Samsung. Even Apple is having a hard time shaking Google on the software side of things. If Samsung were to leave and develop its own operating system, the biggest problem for Google would be the perception of the market place. Having Android as the dominant OS in the market is a big bargaining chip, and having Samsung take a big chunk of that with it would diminish that.

Google needs to stop trying to convince these manufacturers with halo devices. Google needs to convince their hardware partners that they are doing pretty well in the hardware specs department but are lacking in the marketing aspect of things, and stop relying on Google and carriers to get the word out about their devices. This may be hard because Google, itself, can’t seem to share with the rest of the world outside of people who are already using Android phones, the many great advantages in features and capabilities Android phones have had over the competition. Motorola had a finger on this on one point. Maybe these companies as well as Google need to take a note from Samsung and hire a real advertising firm that can shape their marketing strategy. Samsung, I believe, hired the company that did huge campaigns for Nike, and they’ve been booming ever since. People took notice when Samsung went after Apple highlighting advantageous features that every new high end Android phone had over the iPhone.

HTC has already said they realized that their marketing over the last year was lacking, and likely part of their issue with losing sales and marketshare, and that was the main reason they only released the HTC One, so they have a single device to market effectively.

I can promise that Google, the kings of online ads, have realized that they have a problem with advertising Motorola products, and will correct that once they have a wide-release device worth spending the money on (aka the X-Phone).

Samsung has a significant head start, but they are in for some stiff competition this year, in both advertising and devices.

cphilano

Google has been the king of ads via search, but never the king of presenting itself ad wise. There is a very big difference between linking ads to a very good dominant service that people have come to use over the years, and creating a marketing campaign to bring people to a service.

You have to remember that Google gained dominance more so from word of mouth than advertising itself. It garners a lot of ad revenue because it has a great service not revenue from search because of great ads.

I’m not sure if the masterminds at Google have realized that they have a problem with advertising. So far we’ve only seen dominant manufacturers when they have had well constructed ad campaigns. Apple has been the king of this with iPhone. Motorola briefly did it with the original Droid. Now Samsung is doing it with their Galaxy line up. Google and its manufacturing partners seem to think that their devices are going to advertise themselves, or wireless carriers will advertise their devices better.

Look no further than the last year when Android users were frustrated over seeing commercials about iPhone features which were already apart of Android. Android users knew it, but the rest of the world didn’t. How about Samsung marketing S Beam and a bigger screen as advantages over the iPhone? Every top tier Android phone released with Jelly Bean had the Beam feature stock and bigger screens.

Then Google/Motorola better advertises the hell out of it through traditional media, instead of, say, on YouTube.

NexusMan

I think that’s the plan.

Trey Mitchell

Im pretty sure samsung wouldnt bother with going amazon on android they would just shift to tizen, while I’d rather they adopt webOS they are the driving force behind tizen at the moment and it would be a more obvious move.

But I do also think sammy knows what they have with Google and that their phones wouldn’t be as appealing to a number of consumers without them.

Richard Yarrell

In practical terms this is entirely silly the entire platform wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the users who purchase android devices. It is the right of the user to decide what device or manufacturer they prefer they are the ones spending not Google. Samsung has earned this right to be the number one OEM manufacturer they have worked hard and have provided industry leading devices. Google has made emense profit these last three years and should be happy not haters which they have become. Android is open source and is that way for a reason Google can’t control purchases and shouldn’t try to influence any purchases. It’s pretty comical that any jealousy should exist but if jealousy does exist maybe they need to look to those weak manufacturers. Htc, Motorola, Lg, Hauwei, Sony, all need to do better focus on those short falls. Bottom line here if it wasn’t for Samsung android wouldn’t exist in my mind. Advice to androidheadlines create articles that focus on why Lg, Htc, Motorola, and Sony have so many problems and focus on those problems and articles. Don’t focus on Samsung they innovate and offer android users opportunity to actually enjoy top of the line smartphones on a daily basis. Samsung has the best software and features solution ever on any smartphone. Again Samsung has earned their position time for everyone to except this and be proud of Samsung instead of hating.

Richard Yarrell

Another thing that’s annoying about Google in general is that their own Nexus line of devices are gravely boring and extremely dull. They decided to buy Motorola now they wanna try to flex on Samsung and act like a problem exist. The real issue is people who buy Samsung devices purchase those device because Samsung caters to it’s customers. I.e external storage and removable battery while Google goes in an entirely different direction trying to force people to use the cloud. Google talks about apple when it’s convenient but they need to seriously remember where they came from. The hallmark of android is choice android was founded on removable batteries and sdcards. Samsung knows that and still allows android users who desire those features to continue to enjoy those features without being forced to something else. Apple force feeds it’s flock apple better start getting wise because Samsung won’t be pushed around by Google either. Samsung is the only OEM who stood up to apple while Htc kisses apple’s ass just like they kiss Google’s ass. Samsung won’t kiss no Google ass they don’t need to yeah that’s why Google fears Samsung.

jack

The nexus line ain’t for everyone especially people like u fanboy I enjoy Samsung phones but don’t act like a kid n keep making immature cocky comments about Samsung like that and also cutting down other OEMs. Android rules and Samsung galaxy devises wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Google competing with apple in the first place so show some respect and grow up.

squiddy20

“Android is open source and it’s that way for a reason Google can’t control purchases and shouldn’t try to influence any purchases.” It’s pretty clear that you have no clue what you’re talking about from this one sentence alone. 1. Just because something is open source does not mean the company behind the product has no say in the product. 2. Google has never been about “controlling purchases”. Whatever the hell that means.

Lester Nash

They should just merg think bout it samsung with the phones and google with software

bananatroll

if that happened I would go back to BB. Samsung is a horrible OEM. Their phones reek of cheap, low-grade plastics, poor reception, and just feel like a piece of sh** to me every time I try a new one out. The only reason they are as popular as they are is because they have specs, advertising, MASS production, and a big pocket book. Their UI skin is so slow, you couldn’t swim through it with a blender, not to mention it looks like something off a south korean cartoon. Its laggy, unreliable, slow, and is the worst offender on being non-compatible with apps from the Play Store… and yes that includes certain Google apps(go ahead google it) and yet again this is because they screw with the OS way too much to start with.

If anybody has noticed, Touch Wiz has, over the years eroded down to a mere shadow of what android looks like in its native form. It’s like they are trying to erase Google from every niche and cranny they can find and simply become “galaxy phones” without any Google involved whatsoever.

Am I the only one that finds this strange?

In the case of Samsung, the vast majority of folks who’ve decided to repetitively spend their money on this mass produced junk, have taken the blue pill, so they can continue to live in the ‘matrix’ in ignorance.

Zebelious

An excuse to push Motorola into profitability, by directly competing against other Android makers, without being slapped on the wrists. When Google was in the process of acquiring Motorola the following claim was reported;

“That has led to concerns among some rival Android makers that it will compete directly – which Google has aimed to assuage by insisting that it will effectively run it at arms’ length.” — guardian.co.uk, 21/05/2012

jnt

The X Phone will do *nothing* without an extremely aggressive and clever marketing push.

XvierX

This is the beauty of android. Anyway you slice it we, the consumer, win when manufacturers feel they have to compete. It brings out the best in what they have to offer and better options for us. Idk, I just like the idea of Google and Motorola working together to “put Samsung in check”. To me it just means each will try harder to give the consumer what it’s asking for. Also, I agree with other comments that state that Samsung, no matter how popular they become, will not survive without a well established ecosystem of apps. Especially like youtube, google maps, and the like.

It’s fun just sitting and watching what the next move will be. Frankly, I think it’s good that this type of competition stays within Android because for a long while the choices have been Android or iOS. I’d prefer choosing between who can do Android right and still innovate at the same time. Personally, without any real confirmed specs I want to like the rumored X phone. But only time will tell who wins my moolah.

herabros

…why I think Google should make a Nexus phone with each Android OEM, it’ll help that particular company stay relevant (at least for a few months) and it shows that Google doesn’t mind helping all players with no preferences. The more options the better it is for the consumer and if it comes in the flavor of a Nexus device and any Android OEM I want than I think it’s easier to not choose the obvious or what everyone else is buying because it’s popular.

Josh

I’m just curious, could Google stop all of these other phone makers from using the Android OS? And become the only phone maker for android, like how Apple controls iOS?

JoshGroff

IIRC, there’s something about the nature of Android being Linux based that requires them to share the source code, but seeing as in half asleep right now, I don’t really remember the specifics.

LionStone

Yea… I think it would kind of go against the grain to start blocking other phone makers.

I honestly am so incredibly excited about the X-Phone not just because I love their device build quality and the strength of their radio hardware, but also that out of all mobile device manufacturers, Motorola easily makes the best accessories, next to Apple of course (love them or hate them, their first-party accessory line is massive).

Massive, yes…great…not so much. That’s more to do with the fact that their phones have been exactly the same size/shape for such a long time. This is why android phones dont get accesories….because they wont agree on one configuration.

yiannis

I’m almost as proud at not purchasing a samsung as I am not purchasing iPhone when the OG Droid hit the market. EAT IT

We’ve heard a few rumors regarding specs, user experience and distribution, but beyond that, Motorola has been very very careful about that device not getting out into the wild. I think we’ll hear more as we ramp up to I/O.

James

Allows Samsung to become too big? How can they stop them? The day Google involves the SEC over something that Google helped to create is that day I move to a different mobile platform. Google, you helped to create this so-called “problem”, now deal with it on your own.

I’m ready for more xphone news, I’m tired of Touchwiz. Unless Samsung makes a dramatic change to it I for one will hold on to my may upgrade. Unless of course the x phone doesn’t come out until the holiday season. I have an upgrade coming up in November as well as one in March of 2014.

chris125

I think more than anything, google is worried that with samsung taking all the profits if they continue at this pace other manufacturers may just go other routes if they cannot compete against samsung which in turn would lose out for google in the long run if less devices were running their services.

omgitzjose

or google could just decide they dont want to share android anymore or just shut out samsung and then itll be samsung whos crying in the corner trying to sell windows phones to the 3 people on the planet who want one lol…(insert sarcasm) oh i forgot they have badu

Bada is not ready for production. Even if they fast-tracked the development, it would still be a while. Not to mention having to pump up their app ecosystem. As it is, Windows Phone would be the focus shift, but they can’t really differentiate themselves with it since MS controls it so tightly. Advertising for any Windows Phone device is essentially advertising *every* WP device, so why spend the money? If Google cut them off, they would be in some pretty deep water without much recourse.

TheDrunkenClam

All I know is that the X phone better have a removable battery and at least 32GB storage.
Otherwise I’ll have to opt for an S4 with removable battery and SD card slot.
And most importantly, bone stock android.

Removable batteries, for better or worse, are a legacy item. It is much, much simpler to design a semi-permanent battery. Also, in an era of razor-thin margins and increasing cloud storage options, SD cards are quickly becoming less desirable as well, as they add coding complexity in addition to the extra cost of the interface slot and the opportunity cost of the space used by the slot. It all adds up.

Note, while I’m ok with removable batteries and 16GB+ of internal storage, I understand that others have different needs. I am simply pointing out that the options are going to become increasingly slim as time goes on.

TheDrunkenClam

Since Samsung manages to put removable batteries and SD card slots in their galaxy line year after year, I would hardly call them “legacy features”. They’re only a thing of the past in Motorola’s crappy devices and Google’s latest Nexus. Samsung does it because they know what sells, hence the headline of this article. Seems that if Google wants to close the gap with their next device, in my opinion, they need to at least include a removable battery.
You are correct when you say everyone’s needs are different. But the sales numbers of Galaxy devices don’t lie.
A device with a non removable battery and less than 32gb storage is a deal breaker for me.

bananatroll

It will not have a removable battery, or removable storage. You can take that to the bank.
The x phone is truly going to be Google’s Fully Inegrated Android/Google device with every Google service imaginable built into the device from the kernal/SOC/radios up.

Designed by Google, Sold by Google, Updated by Google, Tech Support by Google, Accessories by Google, Commercials by Google, Produced by Google. The OS will be…

PURE google.

Verizon/ATT/Sprint, will have NO say on bloatware for these devices. There will be NONE present, and everything else(with the exception of system apps) will be removable and even some system apps freezable.

This will be Google’s iPhone, but being Android very customization by the end user as usual.

You would be willing to sacrifice all that just for a removable batter?

Even with moto’s recent success at integrating massive batteries into their handsets?!

Just wait. 32gb, 64gb, and possibly 128gb of storage options on these devices with Motorola’s build quality, radios, and pure google.

Alrighty. Well I guess that blows my dreams of a Galaxy Nexus 2. Oh well. Here’s hoping for a badass Moto XPhone!

googlemakebetterphones!

if their phones had removable batteries, sdcards slots and phones with bigger screen then maybe just maybe i would consider on getting a nexus but no thanks google

eliking

The economics of the Android phone market are rapidly changing, prices are essentially halving. Super phone (such as Nexus 4) prices are coming down from $600 to $300, mid-range from $400 to $200, and entry models from $200 to $100 and below. This is an excellent development for Google, because it means more devices out there, and less leverage for any single phone vendor, while at the same time, razor thin margins on hardware making it difficult for phone vendors to pay for in-house software development, and making them more dependent on Google. Samsung will be no exception.

bakdroid

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. X-Phone!

droid90

i have always loved motorola phones since the original droid (and admittedly i have had them all). But recently i have gave in, and bought a Samsung Note 2 (which I have waited for, for a long time to come to verizon) and I Love the phone. The size, the quality, even the stylus (which i don’t use). But I like options. and so does every smart phone user (excluding apple people 😉
i would love to go back to motorola, they just need to get with it. options please….

d-roids

Yea i agree with alotta people. Samsung can lose alot from losing google. Yea theyre pulling alot of attention but thats due to the products and marketing strategies. I dunno but the thought of samsung demanding more from google sounds like a bad idea on samsung’s part. And ive been a huge samsung supporter and a big fan of android. would hate to see that combo disappear.

I gave Motorola all the chance in the world to make me buy their phones but no they didnt want to give me (us) what we wanted. So I went with my Galaxy Nexus. My wife also has a Samsung. I thought HTC would lead the pack a year ago but they let it slip out of their hands.

kidheated

Not a big Samsung fan. I hate that they refuse to stop using the physical buttons despite the fact that the latest android OS has completely outmoded them. Doing so completely ruins the whole point of the OS’ functionality. That and no one wants the stupid skin Samsung uses. It’s all about the pure google experience and they destroy it with their augmentations. I’ve said it before, they need to just focus on what they do best which is building the hardware and leave the rest to googs. Google needs to start penalizing these corps somehow, so they can act right.

trumpet444

eh, not when android is still open source. Thats the thing about open source, you’re not going to like everything that comes with it but its a hell of a lot better than closed

John Wildman

Still Not A Big Fan Of Sammy!

Luxferro

It’s cause Samsung actually markets their products and tries to compete with Apple. Google has no marketing, pretty much zero customer support, and the lack of infrastructure to even support their own products. Look at all their past device launches… absolute failures. For the record I’m I big Google fan, and own many nexus devices.

jack

Agreed, majority of people are not tech geeks that hack like me and they go for brand recognition so they look towards advertisements they see on tv our in public. I love my nexus 4 cause I am a android purest, but google and other OEMs should market their products more to the general public it worked for HTC for a while till they stopped.

jack

If Samsung dominates oh well but they better keep with android because without android they are nothing in the smartphone business can’t wait to see the gs4 and note 3. Samsung can slip though I had the galaxy s one epic 4g and HTC was the star at that time. Innovation is what people want.

Now, If only the X Phone will have commercials that rival Samsung’s by showing you what the phone can actually do. Rather then blow holes in walls that are part of a mythical roofless house.

Radgatt

I don’t think Samsung will pull another omnia out of its hat. Google will be ok.

Tyler Rynberg

Maybe if the other companies actually advertised cool features like Samsung does instead of blowing holes in walls.

KOBALT

Or releasing 10 versions of the same phone. Talking to you and your damn Razr’s Moto.

Mark Mann

the razr currently sits at 6 versions(not counting the older flip-phones) and 4 if you throw out the maxxes as they’re the exact same phone save for battery size(razr, razr m, razr i and razr hd) , the galaxy s 1 and 2 had how many different iterations?

That’s not really accurate. While most of those are versions of, say the international S1, the thing that sets it apart from Moto and Razrs is that the Epic, Captivate, Vibrant, etc. were available on separate carriers. So you couldn’t go to Verizon and get the Epic 4G, and the Fascinate. Some also offered different internals and features that set it apart, like the continuum and it’s extra screen etc.. There were different versions yes, but the different versions were for specific carriers. They weren’t all offered on a single carrier like the Bionic, Razr, Razr Maxx, Razr HD, Razr HD Maxx, etc.

Sherman J. Buster

That is the problem Moto has had, being (almost) completely tied to Verizon. It means that Verizon could dictate terms because Moto needed the Droid advertising dollars that Verizon was using.

See, Motorola was losing money fast, this meant they did not have the money to advertise without Verizon spending their money on the Droid campaigns. Now, with Google’s cash, Motorola could easily advertise their devices more, putting the advertising budget in line with Samsung. This gets whatever brand they want out to the people (similar to Samsung and their Galaxy line). Also with Google’s money, they can possibly break free from the Verizon exclusivity, bringing a similar design-language (I happen to like the look of their devices) and branding across multiple carriers in the US. This would help them as it would drive down manufacturing costs, because everything would be the same internally minus the radios. Pull all this together and Motorola might be able to see black ink again instead of all that red.

This is why I’m holding out on the X Phone currently. I hope this will be a game changer for Motorola as much as it is for Google. Samsung bringing out 9001 different Galaxy devices is going to over-saturate the market with so many “Galaxy” devices than I care to name. Plus, TouchWiz IMO is an ugly POS trying to ‘copy’ off the iPhone’s design a bit.

Anyway, hopefully Motorola will be able to get back into the game, being a trusted brand that I prefer over any others.

the_real_patrick_bateman

I’ll agree that TouchWiz is ugly, but copying Apple would be an aesthetic improvement. The neon green, blue, yellow and orange are just awful. I’m really looking forward to CyanogenMod for my Note2 becoming feature complete and stable.

Trey Mitchell

I love moto’s designs I’m afraid that Google might influence that and stick us with a nexus 4 lite in the x phone,

trumpet444

John’s point still holds true though. To the average customer, the Galaxy line (as well as the Droid line) is all a big blur. The average guy probably doesn’t know that the “Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch” is basically a variant of the Fascinate. If it has a different name it may as well be a different phone

Tommy Thompson

The fascinate isn’t a variant of the Epic touch LOL. Fascinate was GS1 and Epic touch was GS2….

itznfb

The point: The Galaxy line is just as bloated/watered down/blur to end users as the Razr line. The difference. Advertising. Nothing to with brands, features, colors, looks or anything. You make a better commercial and make lots of them you sell more devices. Period.

renGek

yup. My friend went to a tmobile store and had no idea what to buy. He ultimately chose a samsung because it had the word galaxy in it so he just assume it like all the other galaxy phones that he hears all the time.

Mark Mann

thank you for doing the research i was too lazy to do(lol) and helping to prove my point

Brent Cooper

I completely agree. You will sell more phones if you establish a brand(ie. the Galaxy line) and release it on a yearly basis than if you are constantly releasing a new phone*motorola*. Consumers know when they buy a galaxy that they will have the best for a whole year. Not so for those who got the razr, only to have the maxx show up a few months later.

Sherman J. Buster

When you say the Maxx version shows up a few months later, that was the original Android RAZR. The RAZR HD and the Maxx HD version showed up at the same time.

matti861

You’re wrong…. First it was the DROID RAZR then shortly after RAZR maxx came out just as the user stated. Then both models launched together when the hd models came out

Thats why I feel screwed! Looked forward to buying my RAZR on 11/11/11 and then 2 months later the maxx comes out. Now look at all of them.
The manufacturers need to produce no more than 2 a year and preferably 1. I have always respected Motorola, but got bummed fast when they quit supporting the lapdocks.

Also, enough already with provider controlled pricing of product. I can’t believe that I have to spend over $600 for a replacement phone. These things should be under 200 off the shelf.

GJV

Yes! This is correct- the entire “Droid” brand appeals to men aged 12-25 and that’s about it. Samsung has wisely marketed the S3 toward normal people who are not going to be flashing ROMs or blowing up walls in their own house with their phone (which app is that btw??!!) . I cringe whenever I hear the “Droid” robot voice and think of how much that has tarnished Android as a whole.

renGek

The “Droid” marketing by verizon and htc is really what propelled android forward and made it competitive with iphone. Android was so premature at the time without anyone taking a lead in PR. So in many ways the success of android is due in part to that marketing campaign. Thats why it still goes on. The first market were us, the uber user tech folks. That campaign can only take it so far. But without it I am not sure if android could have gotten their foot in the door. Verizon went all out because they couldn’t afford to let at&t get all the glory with iphone.

webby

My Galaxy Nexus has awful radios — most specifically the GPS — takes 3-5 minutes to lock. Moto and HTC phones I have had lock on in seconds. I doubt I will buy another Samsung phone unless their radios are vastly improved.

Samsung has traditionally used really weak GPS radios. Just like HTC usually has sub-par battery life, and Motorola used iffy screens (can’t assume anything with the X-Phone, since it will certainly be a massive shift for them with its own strengths and weaknesses).

GNEX(MOTOX)

I don’t see it like that.. if samsung went the way of amazon.. well first of all they would need amazon’s app market and music and movies from a bunch of sources, and then secondly.. they would get screwed because people would realize that those markets suck compared to google play.

I agree, I think people would have hard time moving towards a Samsung Maps or Samsung Youtube/video type service. Look at Apple moving away from Google Maps, there were some people staving off the iOS6 update and away from the iPhone 5.

TL;DR Google services are what people trust and have a hard time trusting other sources

Bender

Or Samsung could, you know, work out a content licensing deal with amazon.

vitriolix

How does that get them youtube or Google maps? Those apps alone are a huge lever for google. Go check the iPhone app store rankings to see how vital they are

Kane Stapler

Right, but then they leave and go to Apple. It’s not good either way for Google. If a general person has a bad experience with Android they just go to iOS.

trumpet444

The problem is, that there are way too many cheap ass/budget android phones that eventually DO give the general person a bad experience with android and cause them to go to iOS. I’ve seen it happen a lot with some of my coworkers. The confusing part is that their shiny new i*hone has a big shiny new price tag and if they’d spent that much to begin with on a “good” android phone, they wouldn’t have had such a crappy experience. I laugh now because those same coworkers constantly ask me how to get a function or feature that they were accustomed to with android and (with a smile!) I tell them that they need to jailbreak and spend $20-30+ in Cydia to get some of those features with iOS

ERIC REED

Way to make them spend money they don’t need to. I paid five for the tethering app and everything else was free.

xXAaronSXx

Also, just having Google Search is a biggie. Remember when Samsung went with Bing on the Samsung Fascinate (which was basically the worst version of the Galaxy S). My buddy bought that phone and would bitch about it almost daily.

Trey Mitchell

That was Verizon’s fault not Samsung’s.

xXAaronSXx

Agreed, I was just pointing out that Bing instead of Google hurt the overall experience and contributed in making the phone one of the worst in the Galaxy S line. This serves as a direct comparison of similar phones ( all GS’s) running Google services compared to those not using (at least one) Google service.

I don’t know man. Touchwiz and the Android experience on Galaxy phones is pretty awful and people still seem to love those phones. I don’t think your average person realizes how great real Android is compared to HTC and Samsung’s bastardized version of it.

kilbasar

Eh. I own the S3, and yes as a power user I’ve replaced the OS with CM, but I also used TouchWiz for a few months and it was fine. It’s gotten a lot lighter, less intrusive, and just better. Most of the apps/changes are not bad. I know a lot of people with stock S3s, most of whom have owned other Android devices, and they have no problems with TouchWiz. It’s really a power user concern only.

Trey Mitchell

Have you even used a recent touch wiz phone? 90% of the changes ARE improvements. even as a poweruser I prefer roms with some of the touchwiz stuff baked in. this continued assumption that anything skinned is bad needs to stop. a year ago it was like that but even two of the worst offenders (moto, and htc) are starting to trim down their skins. hell the razrs are nearly stock. and Samsung’s changes are mostly value added features. they had quick toggles in the status bar as far back as the Galaxy s1 that’s a value added feature. Same thing with multi window on the note2 can your stock android or cyanogen rom run two apps at the same time next to each other?. and all the rest of the stuff like the gestures and such you can turn off if you don’t like it. seriously don’t go hating what you don’t understand.

bananatroll

I have used them all, and Samsung devices are chock full of bloat ware, unremovable south Korean pipe dreams of market domination like s-pen, s-crap, s-copy apple, s-copy this, and s-copy that, cooked dog and with rice noodles, and… S-mail?! What the hell is that anyways? Why does Samsung feel like it change absolutely every aspect off Android until there is virtually no Android left? Power users my rear end lol. Touch Wiz ifs like a damn straight knockoff if Apple hardware and Mountain View software with horrible radios, a cluttered ui overlay, and stupid, junky plastic casing. What’s so strange is how many they sucker in with their marketing and poor build quality. Go ahead hold up a RAZR maxx and a gs3 next to other and see which one gets better reception in a low signal area. Which one will remain functional after multiple drops cracked screen, and being immersed UN water? See which one egged battery comes flying out of like a rock with betas on it? It won’t be Motorola. You’re comparing a Landcruiser to a 2001 Hyundai Elantra… There is no comparison.

ds

myself and I had horrible experiences with motorolla and HTC. I don’t have any reception problems on SIII. Where are your complaints coming from? Some people may like it better, and some people may not. One thing I’m sure is I would never go back to current lineups of moto and htc, I would rather use touchwiz you complain about. oh forget iphone.. I can’t live without widgets..

Trey Mitchell

Spoken Like a true Hater. Bravo sir. I’m going to take your points one at a time more or less in order:

I never compared Samsung and Moto directly but since you have “used them all” I’m sure you are aware how Awful blur was prior to the Google acquisition my droid X’s performance doubled after cyanogen without any overclocking touch wiz was always light and had useful stuff like quick toggles.

dreams of market domination??? have you seen the stats? did you read the story you are posting under?? They Have market domination sir.

I like how you didn’t address any of my points like multi window or the quick toggles. Oh please do tell me who did Samsung copy the S-pen from?? last I checked steve jobs said that if there’s a stylus they blew it. that doesn’t sound like copying Cupertino to me.

Oh and you goofed mountian view is Google remember you said that Samsung watered down android till there was no android left you can’t have it both ways.

My note 2 gets a signal in all the same places my Droid x did without trouble.

It’s not plastic it’s polycarbonate not the same thing but it’s subjective regardless as to rather its “junky” or “stupid”. anyway the note 2 is more screen (read gorilla Glass) than anything else.
Admittedly the program known as S-voice is pretty much a siri clone but it
was released to directly compete with the iphone before google now was announced. There is no such thing as S-mail my note 2 came with gmail and the default android mail client with minor modifications to make it work with the s-pen hover and some visual stuff.

HA if you confuse a recent galaxy phone for an Iphone you have problems. that point would have been valid 2 years ago with the original galaxy particularly the verizon variant did look a lot like an iphone but that’s long behind us.

as far as changing everything goes I think you might be confusing Samsung with HTC, because sense is the most intrusive skin I’ve ever experienced and it kills performance to boot.

Make no mistake I don’t actually care what you think, haters will hate.

For what it’s worth I hope moto makes a come back because I love their design language. but seriously Samsung should be commended for what they have accomplished.

oh look I have composed a novel oh well thanks for reading hopefully it maintained some of my formatting otherwise this could be painful to read.

=P

213ninja

TW on my VZW Note 2 owns…what OEM ROM offers S-Pen functionality? I’m a long time android user, and i used to run custom ROMs on all of my previous devices….not this one.

Ken Bosse

I have the S3, love to rom, but I always go back to a stockish TW rom, like CleanRom. Touchwiz is not that bad, and actually has some great features. There is just no need for anything else right now (for me that is). Sure there are somethings it can do better, but i’m overall pretty happy.

C-Law

Seriously have you used touchwiz on an s3? I’m running a touchwiz based rom and have no desire anymore to go to aosp bc I can’t find anything negative other than slower updates

Their hardware maybe but if you look at amazon strictly on the web/cloud service side, they are ahead of google. True practical cloud implementation has been live and well on amazon for years. They hold a great deal of market share in that realm. Google still has a long way to go to compete with Amazon’s robust cloud services. Google is still doing a lot of experimentation type stuff at a much lower volume than Amazon cloud. Amazon gov cloud for example is probably the only cloud service that makes sense for the u.s. govt.

Michael Quinlan

“Samsung took the Amazon route, Google would be losing a ton of revenue if they halted using those specific applications on their devices.”

Despite the fact that it seems to have worked for Amazon, I think doing anything like this would be a suicide move for Samsung. The tight integration with Google services is a major appeal of Android, and any manufacturer who drops that integration in favor of their own ecosystem is taking a big risk.

Drome

this is 100% true. I have several contacts in the industry that have told me google is very afraid of this. This is also why they are moving more and more of the new android features into closed source GApps so that they could not be simply taken from AOSP.

The only reason Samsung is doing so well is because of the the mass amounts of advertising money they are throwing every which way, a cue they took from Apple. Google could develop the greatest device in the history of the universe, but it won’t mean anything unless they can drown the public in advertising. Unfortunately, that’s just the way the world works.

At this point I think Samsung is a bigger threat to Android than Apple is.

HeartStrong07

Google might want to speed it up .. my old galaxy nexus is working fine rooted; a galaxy note 8.0 for work note taking and general consumer and an upgrade samsung pc for home and I am all done

Senor Saleem

Im on my second replacement samsung galaxy nexus, Im not buying another one of their phones.

The bad thing is when people think of Android….most think of whatever Samsung device they have and they think THAT is just what Android is.

It’s tragic that they don’t know what stock Android is like. They get sucked into the Touchwiz experience and that skews their idea of what Android is.

A large chunk of people still don’t know that no 2 Android phones(non Nexus devices mind you) are alike, the experience isn’t alike. So if they have a unpleasant experience they blame Android as a whole.

The Galaxy Nexus is stock Android, and decent, but I wouldn’t mind a flagship Motorola phone when the contract is up. I’m not impressed with the LG Nexus 4.

kixofmyg0t

I personally despise the Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus 4 however is a pretty damn good phone except for battery life. Unfortunately battery life is a deal breaker for me. Hence why I have a RAZR MAXX HD.

baconslayer09

Is 4 hours of on-screen time and a whole day of standby time not good enough on the Nexus 4?

kixofmyg0t

Compared to the 7 hours onscreen time with LTE and 3 days of standby time of my MAXX HD? Umm yeah kinda.

I’m just spoiled by it. I’m not saying the N4 is bad, but I can’t imagine not having the battery life I enjoy now with my HD.

baconslayer09

Yeah, you’re spoiled. I would have been ecstatic to get 3 hours of screen time on my GSM Galaxy Nexus before I got my Nexus 4. It’s all perspective.

Richard Yarrell

The Lg Nexus 4 makes your Galaxy Nexus so useless it’s comical

kg215

Not at all. The nexus 4 is clearly the better device but the screen is the same res (yes I know the nexus 4 has slightly better pixel density), and the difference in cpu/gpu is only noticeable when you really push your phone to the limit (newest games and certain videos). On the video front the Galaxy Nexus plays 1080p blu ray rips smoothly as long as it works with hardware acceleration (10 bit doesn’t). In that case the Nexus 4 will play videos in software mode that the Galaxy Nexus would not.

In all other scenarios (calling, using apps, using the OS, watching most videos, playing most games, browsing the internet) you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Both phones get the latest updates and have unlockable bootloaders, both phones have plenty of rom/kernel support. But the Galaxy Nexus has LTE, removable battery, and 32gb of memory. So no the Galaxy Nexus is not useless compared to the Nexus 4, it still has some major advantages. The Nexus 4 is miles ahead in terms of internal hardware, but Google compromised quite a bit in order to sell it at that amazing off contract price. Hopefully the X Phone will fix some of those things, while keeping the price just as amazing.

squiddy20

And yet, everything that can be done on a Nexus 4 can be done on the Galaxy Nexus. Yeah, it’s “useless” alright… What a moron.

PhillipCun

except LTE.

Benjamin Mackie

If Google is worried, get a good quality phone that is unlockable and on VZW. Really, I dont understand why they cant get something quality out in terms of phones on VZW. Samsung convinced them to carry the S3, why cant google put out a pretty screen, 4-core, high quality camera phone? Id pay $400 for a good phone, not problem at all

Verizon’s 3G fall-back system is the problem. I’m certain that every manufacturer would love to put out devices unlocked on Verizon, but VZW has a strangle-hold on their proprietary CDMA 3G network, and unlike Sprint, are large enough to demand either specialized devices, or some kind of compensation for allowing devices to connect to their network. Samsung very likely paid Verizon to put the SGS3 and GN2 on their network without changing the branding.

jboogie1289

C’mon now, really?

John Burke

Release a Nexus-priced Moto on all carriers…

michael arazan

But how do they do that without carriers having control over the phone? I’m sick of the carriers having self appointed power over devices we own. They lease spectrum that we the people of the United States own and they lease from us through the FCC. Carriers need to be regulated more, than dictating everything to the consumers and basically screwing consumers at their own free will with no backlash whatsoever all in the name of profit and greed.. If we want to do with our devices as we please that has nothing to do with the carriers network, that should be our choice not theirs.

trumpet444

It can be done. Look at Apple. Verizon wouldn’t dare try to install bloat on an iPhone AND Apple controls every bit of the update cycle….the carriers have no hand in it because Apple wouldn’t allow it. Google/Motorola/Samsung/LG/HTC/etc just need to grow a bigger spine, or at least try to use the one they have

Zac St. Louis

thing is, if samsung were to leave and I were to buy a samsung device, I’d still use google’s main apps because I’m familiar with them, already have login credentials to them and frankly I trust google with my info 100X more than I trust Samsung. I think Google’s been vital to Samsung’s growth and I think if they were to leave they’d be screwed (especially with their terrible software updating schedules)

just my 2 cents

Jeff Tycz

What an amazing concept, a phone company that advertises their products is making money!?!

That’s outrageous!

Tim242

I know, right?! Maybe the other OEM’s should take note.

FAL_Fan

Pun intended?

DeeIntruder

What’s outrageous is that Samsung will start their own services like Amazon does with their App Store. Google will no longer be getting a share of the money people spend on content because Samsung will launch their own stores for content.

Jeff Tycz

Google will also not supply their services just like they did with amazon

kane

They don’t have any money. Samsung took it when they weren’t looking

JoshGroff

You see so many ads that the phone is burned into your mind when you go to the store. The other manufacturers never stood a chance.

cphilano

Exactly how I feel. You can honestly tell the difference between Samsung and the others, by looking around at all of the advertising Samsung has done. Why don’t the other companies actual advertise their phones instead of the carriers?

Samsung could just release their own OS like Apple and people would just stick with them, I don’t want to see the Android distribution numbers if that happens.

dsignori

If they do, Samsung phones then won’t have native Gmail, Maps, Drive, Google Search Google Now, G+ apps, or even perhaps the Google Play store if Google so wanted. Who is gonna by that phone?

So I don’t think we’ll see any of this in the near future ..

baconslayer09

I wouldn’t touch a Samsung phone without Google apps. Eww.

JetBlue

I don’t get how Google can complain about advertising when if I turn on my tv for about an hour I’ll see maybe 1-3 commercials advertising the S3 or Note 2 but if I’m lucky I’ll see maybe one Google commercial.

Just need to push the Nexus line into each OEM and make sure its available on each carrier. Not just damn GMS ones.

Timothy McGovern

Google vs. Samsung > Google vs. Apple

Robert Delaney

Samsung “might” destroy themselves to not to worry. Remember that whole Tizen OS they are trying to rez from the dead. If Samsung throws too much of their hardware into it, it will be bad news bears.

digitalicecream

Actually, I think Moto needs to get on it and build devices at least as sexy as those from Samsung, just to keep them afloat when Sammy switches gears and introduces their BADA OS is replacing Android on their devices. That is, until Antitrust cases emerge from Google/Motorola issues.

gokusimpson

After seeing the ridiculous Galaxy Note 8.0 Samsung and “sexy” don’t belong in the same sentence.

Really? I guess thats why samsungs the only android manufacturer even worth mentioning.

EC8CH

Yeah… I guess Verizon really likes that stupid home button.

and btw… I’m joking… don’t be so mad bro.

KleenDroid

What home button? My Samsung has no home button. 🙂

La2da

Amazing.

KL Wong

I LOVE MY HOME BUTTON!! Please never take it away. You guys don’t get that having the home (and capacitative) buttons there do not make the phone larger than other phones (which waste that bottom space), but instead frees up more screen real estate. I also love pressing it (once to turn on, another time to unlock).

Tell Google to get off it’s a** & release a phone people can actually get unlike the Nexus 4. It seems like the whole Google / Motorola deal went down ages ago & they haven’t done jack w/ it. Hurry the F up & release the Moto X before Samsung does take over the world.

Robert Delaney

It hasn’t even been a year. Give them some room to restructure and reorganize.

Thomas

W/ phones being released as quickly as they are these days, should have had something out by now. Just saying…

kixofmyg0t

Remember a few months ago when EVERYONE AND THEIR DAMN MOTHER was butt hurt that Moto was releasing too many phones?

“OMG MOTOROLA JUST STOPPPPPPP!!! 14:!B!”

Filled every post about every Moto phone.

Now people are bitching that Moto isn’t releasing a new phone every 20 minutes like Samsung.

Me being a fan of Motorola, I’m actually glad there isn’t another device currently and I’ll wait patiently to see what Google and Motorola have up their sleeves for the X Phone. The little info we got is enough to keep me hooked on waiting for it.

Agree, Way too many motos out there. They need to come out with one big one with all of the bells and whistles and then not again for another year. Follow apples lead when selling a product.

kane

Take a look at just about any other company that was bought/merged. Culture clash, Management shuffles, job losses, supply chain changes, etc. Google already talked about having to put out old Motorola products that were already ready to enter the sales channel before it could ship new products. No to mention things like selling off things such as cable set top boxes

As long as they stop making every Moto handset look like some bastardized version of the Razr circa 2002 I’ll be interested. As it stands, moto design has been fugly after their original XOOM tablet, which I thought was sexy. Then they went to these odd angled everything devices and I haven’t looked at Moto since. Nevermind that skin that no one likes.

kixofmyg0t

What about the Samsung skin that nobody likes? Or the home button that nobody likes?

Norman Farmer

I for one, Like the home button.

kixofmyg0t

I understand that, I’m not bashing the home button deal. I prefer the on screen keys of my RAZR HD.

mercado79

I don’t mind a home button so much as I find pushing it a chore. On a phone that’s so big, particularly when I’m reaching with my thumb, having to click it down is more work than it should be. I wish it were a capacitive button or at least something that took much less effort to press. Or on-screen keys instead (though at the expense of some screen real estate).

digitalicecream

I sold my galaxy note and picked up a Nokia Lumia 920. So I’m going to be honest and tell you that I don’t even remember which launcher I used to replace touch wiz. And my phone did not have that button anyway, so I can’t really speak on that either.

FelisLachesis

Those were the phones that were already in production pre-Google buyout. Now that they’ve been all cleared, I really hope that the Moto-X Phone will give Samsung a serious run in the Android Marketplace.

FelisLachesis

Edit: those were the phones that were already in *development* pre-Google buyout.

gokusimpson

Dunno about that. I think the Razr phones are pretty good looking. They look and feel solid. Samsung phones and tablets look and feel like children’s toys. They’re all great phones, but I’d like something that didn’t seem like it came out of a happy meal box.

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